The medical industry has experienced an exponential increase in the incidence of accidental needle punctures experienced during the disposal and/or storage of used syringes. Accidental needle punctures pose a potentially deadly and serious problem to medical care providers, as well as to individuals handling used syringes. Accidental “needle sticks” may also be costly to diagnose and/or treat. It is estimated that the expense to identify and treat a medical condition acquired as a result of a “needle stick” is within the range of between two thousand and five hundred thousand dollars ($2,000.00 and $500,000.00).
Medical industry insurers have been desperate to identify ways to eliminate and/or minimize the risk of inadvertent “needle sticks” to medical service providers and/or individuals involved in the handling and disposal of used syringes. In addition, self-insuring medical facilities are especially interested in a cost effective solution to eliminate the growing “needle stick” problem.
Currently, used syringes are collected and/or held in a heavy walled bag known in the industry as a sharp bag or box. Currently, a care giver is required to deposit a used syringe and needle into an appropriate sharp bag or box. A number of disadvantages arise through the use of a sharp bag or box by a care giver. Initially, a care giver is required to exercise extreme caution to not acquire an inadvertent “needle stick” during the placement of a used syringe into a sharp bag. In addition, used needles protruding from a sharp bag pose a serious risk to a care giver as the sharp bag becomes filled to capacity. Persons handling a sharp bag filled with used needles must also be extremely careful to not obtain an accidental “needle stick,” especially when emptying the syringes or transporting the sharp bag. Frequently, sharp bags are not automatically sealed, thereby further increasing the potential of inadvertent “needle sticks” to individuals. As well, syringes are typically not sterilized prior to transportation, storage, and/or disposal.
Additional risks are also present with respect to the handling of used syringes outside of a medical facility environment. Home health care, such as that practiced by many individuals having diabetes, may require the disposal of a number of used syringes each day. Additionally, used syringes may be disposed of without destruction, which, in turn, may further expose the public to the danger of improper reuse and/or “needle sticks.”
The considerations referenced above are just a few of the major problems associated with the handling and disposal of used syringes. The considerations identified above also show a critical need for a device which safely and effectively renders used syringes harmless and non-reusable, thereby facilitating disposal and/or recycling.
Therefore, there is a need for improved methods and devices for rendering used syringes safe for disposal and/or recycling that address these and other shortcomings of the prior art.